constant disconnection/reconnection between Netgear MA401 AP and SMC2632W V.2 client

[Ryan Abbenhuys]

This is a problem with WinXP.
Apparently this is a WinXP update or service pack that fixes it.


>Hello there,
>
>	I recently setup a Toshiba Satellite as a WAP/router for my home
>network.  The setup uses a Netgear MA401 PrismII based card in the
>laptop, which is binded to the HostAP driver. The configuration was very
>strait forward (no special firmware needed), and it works well for the
>most part. 
>	A problem did emerge when I tried using a SMC2632W V.2 (Amtel chipset)
>based client on the network.  The SMC client becomes associated on the
>network without a problem, and even had a very strong signal. However,
>every minute or so the SMC client laptop (running Windows XP) displays a
>network disconnection of the wireless NIC, and then reconnects. These
>disconnect/reconnect intervals seem to be equal, though I have not
>proved this assumption. The simple and most obvious answer is that the
>client is too far away from the WAP. However, the signal on the SMC xp
>client is categorized as very "very good".  In fact, it's much better
>than any of the Prism II clients have ever been (I have several machines
>that access this WAP. All the rest are PrismII based). The transfer
>rates (when actually connected) are indicative of this too, as they are
>excellent. Most importantly, the other PrismII clients perform without
>disconnection at equal distance from the WAP with a lower signal. I have
>also tried using both SMC's windows utility and Windows XP's integrated
>"zero" configuration system.  Both yield equal results.
>	I should also mention two factors..
>
>1. This is the first non-prismII client I've used with this WAP system,
>and it's the first with problems.
>2. I upgraded the firmware on the MA401 to the most recent version
>(standard firmware, not AP firmware) in hopes this would solve the
>problem. It did not.
>
> Are there known incompatabilities with non-PrismII chipsets acting as
>clients to the hostap driver?
>
>	I'm wondering if anyone has any insights to the cause of this
>troublesum problem. Perhaps there is a way to tweak either the hostap
>driver or the smc client settings?
>
>-- 
>Mike Bohan <bogin at shortcircut.org>
>
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